The world of Premiership transfer gossip is full of nonsense, but some nonsense is more interesting that the other nonsense. Speculation is rife in the likes of the Mirror, Daily Mail, Times, Sun and… err… Tribal Football all do their best to predict and/or completely make up the future.
Here’s our opinion on the Premiership transfer rumours we’ve read in the papers and around the net… and if you have any thoughts, pop em in the comments.
CaughtOffside Says:Arsenal seem to be attracting incessant moaners lately. Reyes, Baptista and Gallas. But we can’t imagine Wenger would let ol’ Willsy leave and weave some of that “we’ll be awesome next year” magic.
Aston Villa and Middlesbrough hope to sign Portsmouth midfielder Sean Davis in a £3m deal.
CaughtOffside Says: Davis has been a solid Premiership performer since his days at Fulham and, while not getting much of a chance while at Tottenham, remains a player who will shore up any midfield if lacking in the spectacular. Villa and Boro would benefit from his presence, but we don’t see Pompey letting him out.
Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool are in the race for exciting Poli Ejido midfielder Stephen ‘Sunny’ Sunday.
CaughtOffside Says: That rare combination of emerging to fame amongst the FM community and then set to do it in real life. Could be the first battle of the billionaire investors, but more likely it’s just agent talk.
Celtic and ex-Chelsea midfielder Jiri Jarosik is pleased to hear himself linked to Tottenham.
CaughtOffside Says:The “White Vieira” did a solid job while in the Premiership and is always a danger at set pieces, something that Tottenham have only been to themselves lately. But if Spurs want to get better, they need to add top class quality not another ‘decent’ player.
Atletico Madrid striker Fernando Torres has “You’ll never walk alone” on the inside of his armband.
CaughtOffside Says:This one came from The Sun, rendering it almost certainly complete bollocks. But in general, Torres to the Premiership is a move that is going to come up every transfer window but probably won’t happen until he’s a few years older and a few million cheaper.
Chelsea are planning a £45m bid for Valencia striker David Villa.
CaughtOffside Says: Since the club’s actions and Mourinho’s words suggest that silly bids are out of question these days, we don’t think this one has much to it. If anything, it’s more likely that Rafa Benitez will make Villa his first monster signing if greenlit by the Americans.
Manchester City and Everton are in for Cardiff and ex-Newcastle Michael Chopra for £4m.
CaughtOffside Says: Been around the top of the scorers in the Championship with 22 so far, and looking like fulfilling some of that potential he showed as a youngster with the Geordies. But 4 million seems a bit steep for one season’s worth of goals.
Everton are prepared to meet Hibernian’s £4m valuation for Scotland midfielder Scott Brown, which could see off the interest from Rangers and Celtic.
CaughtOffside Says: Brown would fit in well with the rest of Everton’s hard-working, aggressive midfield if David Moyes is looking to get more of the same next season. But a player with a bit more guile or a proper winger could serve them better for that sort of price.